-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It is a Sunday night in Bridgetown , Barbados .

Here on this Caribbean island , and on the others that make up what 's known as the West Indies , life revolves around one thing -- cricket .

On this night , locals gather at historic Kensington Oval , which hosted the 2007 World Cup final . There are no national teams on display this time , but there is a local trophy up for grabs .

It 's enough to draw a large crowd of boisterous fans . In the concourse , a familiar face makes his way through the crowd .

He is Franklyn Stephenson , and he is the best to have never played for the West Indies , all because of one decision he and his teammates made 30 years ago .

It left each of them -- forever -- branded a rebel .

In 1983 , the West Indies cricket team was on top of the world . Team captain Clive Lloyd , from Guyana , had led them to back-to-back World Cup victories in 1975 and ' 79 .

Contact ` Branded a rebel ' presenter Don Riddell on Facebook

Overflowing with talent , the islands of the West Indies could have fielded at least two teams of world-class players . But with all the hype and success , money did not follow . Playing international and club cricket was not enough to earn a living .

At the same time , a world away , South Africa was deep in the heart of apartheid . Its government 's policies had split life into different classifications for whites and so-called non-whites .

Such oppression against the non-white population intensified into violence , landing young protesters like Nelson Mandela in jail . Thousands more were arrested or killed .

As the world tried to pressure South Africa 's leadership , sanctions were applied , and sport was no exception .

In 1970 , the International Cricket Council banned South Africa from international competition , leaving the country 's cricket-mad fans deprived of the sport they loved , and their cricketers of the careers they dreamed of .

`` You 're always optimistic , '' said former South African cricketer Clive Rice . `` The stupidity that existed would change and South Africa would change much quicker , and we 'd be back playing international sport . But it hung on and hung on . ''

` Rebel tours '

To save cricket in South Africa , the sport 's administrators knew something had to be done .

So , in secret , they began planning `` rebel tours '' -- inviting various teams from around the world .

It was a bold move to defy the ICC 's ban by offering lucrative contracts . In March 1982 , the first rebel team from England arrived in Johannesburg .

`` From our point of view , we knew we had the best cricketers in the world , '' said former South African Cricket Union president Joe Pamensky , one of the rebel tour organizers . `` We wanted to show them off to the world so they would see it the same as we saw it . ''

Later that year , a team from Sri Lanka followed .

And it was n't long before many began suspecting South Africa was also targeting a team from the West Indies , the dominant force in world cricket .

`` You heard a lot of whispers around the place that perhaps these guys were going to South Africa , '' recalled broadcaster Tony Cozier .

`` But at that time , we could n't believe that they could assemble a team of West Indies players given the whole background to the anti-apartheid movement . ''

Many big-name West Indies stars were outspoken in their refusal to play in apartheid South Africa .

Captain Clive Lloyd said no amount of money could get him there . Future captain Viv Richards called it `` blood money . ''

But other players were tempted .

The offers from South Africa were more than they would likely see in their lifetimes -- estimated to be between $ 100,000 and $ 150,000 per player .

It was enough to draw in names like batsmen Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran , fast bowler Sylvester Clarke and wicketkeeper David Murray -- one of the best in the game .

Also agreeing to take part was Collis King , hero of the 1979 World Cup .

`` I made the decision because I was n't getting treated right as far as the West Indies -LRB- team -RRB- was concerned , '' said King . `` And I said to myself , ` Well , cricket is my job . You 're not picking me , I 'll go play cricket someplace where people will see proper cricket . ' And that 's why I went . ''

More than just cricket

Rising star Stephenson was only 23 in 1983 , with a promising career in front of him . He had repeatedly turned down offers to play in South Africa .

But the day the team left , Stephenson had a change of heart .

`` I knew the tour was more important than being just cricket , '' Stephenson said . `` I believe that cricket can make a difference , and I 'm going to be a part of that team . ''

On the plane , Stephenson recalled , some of the players began having second thoughts . But it was too late -- they were on their way to South Africa , to face apartheid head on .

`` When we got to South Africa , I realized that separation , and it was n't only black and white , '' he said . `` It 's the language that you speak , the area that you live in , and it 's what you 're allowed to do , and where you can go . So the divisions were very real when we got there . ''

Unsure of how they 'd be received by the country 's mainly white fanbase , the West Indies rebels prepared for their first Test match .

But their worries soon proved unfounded -- in droves , crowds came out to see the famous cricketers .

`` We packed them in , '' said Murray . `` We turned out 20,000 in Pretoria , the heart of apartheid . ''

As the tour went on , the players began to believe something more important than just cricket was taking place .

Young kids -- white kids -- were begging them for autographs . It seemed South African fans could n't get enough of the black cricketers from the West Indies .

`` For the first time , they were seeing blacks beating whites , '' said newspaper writer Al Gilkes , the only journalist from the Caribbean to go to South Africa .

`` Here was a country in which no black man had ever seen a black person in competition with a white person , and beating them . To me , that was where the real victory was . ''

` Destroyed as cricketers '

But critics of the tour disagree . They say the presence of a team of black men in South Africa did not help end apartheid , but instead strengthened and supported it .

Even within the country itself , non-whites protested the West Indies rebels .

Back home in the Caribbean , the reaction was worse . A deep sense of betrayal cut through the Caribbean . Cricketers who were once viewed as heroes were now seen as sellouts .

When the month-long tour was over , the rebel players knew they would have to face the repercussions of their decision back home .

`` I felt sorry for them , '' said Gilkes , `` because I knew that they would never outlive what they were returning to . ''

The fate of their cricketing careers rested with the West Indies Cricket Board of Control .

The players were aware they might face a ban -- after all , England 's rebel team had been banned for three years ; Sri Lanka 's was banned for 25 years .

But they did not expect to be banned for life .

`` Many of them were destroyed as cricketers , '' said University of West Indies Professor Hilary Beckles . `` Their cricket careers came to an end . ''

Murray , once a star , is now drifting , unable to hold a job in Barbados . In the years after the tour , he eventually lost more than just his career .

His wife gave birth to their baby daughter in Australia , while Murray was playing in South Africa .

They faced being deported from Australia for his role in the rebel tours , and were unwelcome back in the Caribbean , too . They had a newborn , and nowhere to go .

`` They did n't want me to return , '' Murray said . `` Politics got into it . ''

When asked if his current situation resulted from his decision to go , Murray answered : `` Most likely . ''

Mercenaries ?

For Stephenson , the once-rising star , his cricketing past is behind him . He is now a golf instructor at a country club in Barbados .

But he still finds a way to connect to the sport he loved at the cricket and golf academy he started near his home .

There , a photo of his rebel team sits proudly on the shelf . It is not the memories of the tour he wants to forget , but what came after .

`` Nobody looked out for us , '' Stephenson said .

For the players , their lives defined by this single moment in sport history , each day is a reminder of what they lost by going to South Africa .

But they gained something , too -- strong bonds forged on a tour condemned by the rest of their world , cherished by the participants .

And to this day , they hold strongly to the belief that being in South Africa in 1983 made a difference in disbanding apartheid , less than a decade after the West Indies players were there .

Gilkes wrote a seven-part series about the tour . In the last article , he stated the trip might have started with the players being viewed as mercenaries , but he saw them as missionaries `` who converted white South Africans to accepting that blacks were their equals . ''

`` I know I went there as a missionary , '' King said .

Murray agreed . `` I do n't see the mercenary part of it or whatever . We were just professional cricketers . You 've got work to do . ''

`` What do mercenaries do ? '' Stephenson asked . `` They go and fight somebody else 's cause .

`` Well , yes I was a mercenary for black people 's cause , because wherever I 've been , I 've been an ambassador for my country , my race and the game of cricket . So if that 's being a mercenary , then yes I was . ''

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West Indian cricketers shunned after touring apartheid-era South Africa

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They defied international conventions after being offered large sums of money

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Accused of strengthening apartheid 's grip in South Africa by playing there

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But players say they made a difference in helping cause of black people